


Worth the fight

by neverending_shenanigans



Series: What is and what should never be (Darcy Lewis Crossovers and Fusions) [7]
Category: Fantastic Four (Movieverse), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Cheesy, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Humor, One Night Stands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-15 13:36:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2230989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverending_shenanigans/pseuds/neverending_shenanigans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy was pretty welcoming towards simple and clean one night stands. However, when she kind of just happened to see more of Johnny Storm afterwards than she expected, she didn't particularly mind. Because somehow, there was more to the guy that he seemed to let on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth the fight

**Author's Note:**

> Posted on tumblr before,  
> Written for the Darcy Lewis Crossover Week, 2014.
> 
> Setting: Covering everything from Fantastic Four to Thor to the Silversurfer to Avengers to Thor 2 and beyond that. Hah. It’s just maybe a bit AU. But I think I didn’t break canon too much. (As little as I could anyway, seeing just what kind of pairing this is.)
> 
> So, I started this on day seven, but had to put it off for a few days due to term papers. I decided I’ll count it as day 7 either way, as over 10k were already done on that day. I didn’t get to double check spelling and all that, now, because I didn’t want to make you wait any longer, though. On that note, have a bit of a more serious Johnny. The character really grew on me, besides his ‘little shit’- and ‘troublemaker’-attitude. So this is almost a character study, in a way. Which works especially well, because I think Darcy is one hell of an observant and compassionate person. Also: I’m implying at one point that Jane was friends with Betty Ross. So the guy she is talking about is Bruce. Last but not least: Prepare for ‘le cheesy’.

**Worth the fight**

 

There’s something about the look in your eyes  
Something I noticed when the light was just right  
It reminded me twice that I was alive  
And it reminded me that you’re so worth the fight

[Echo – Incubus]

 

*

 

The first time Darcy ever saw Johnny Storm it was from the grand stand of some motor bike thing. Darcy didn’t actually remember what it was called, she just knew that some reckless idiots were doing stunts with motor bikes. And shew knew that her ten year old kid-brother loved it, so of cause she took him there on her first holidays in college. She’s nineteen, she lives in a nice dorm, she got into Culver, life is good. Sitting through some weird bike show to see Brandon (or, as she likes to call him, Donnie; she just has to hope that he’ll never see Donnie Darko) happy, it’s worth it.

When the announced a special guest, Darcy was too busy checking out the guy sitting to her right than to even listen. She was contemplating if flirting with a hot guy she was sure she had seen in college before was out of question if one was out with their brother, when Donnie tugged at her arm again.

“You have to watch that, sis! He’s Johnny Storm!” Dutifully, Darcy looks, not even half interested. Of cause, she never expected for him to experiment with spontaneous combustion while doing a stunt. Darcy was shocked and bewildered as the guy _failed_ and then _fell._ Just like everyone in the place, she jumped up, holding Donnie’s hand.

“What the fuck?” Donnie squeezed her hand, though, and grinned at her reassuringly with his big tooth gape.

“Don’t worry, sis, he’s a superhero! He’ll be fine.” Darcy wasn’t sure if Donnie really means that, but, true enough, the guy got up and the crowd cheered. She sat down again, taking a big sip from her coke.

“Okay, kid. What did I miss? How did he do the fire trick?” Donnie looked at her a bit annoyed, and reminded her horribly of her mother in that moment. “For someone studying politics you don’t watch the news enough, sis.”

“Smartass.” “Airhead.” “Okay, stop it. Just tell me, or you won’t get ice cream.” That worked.

“They’re superheroes! They were on the bridge, where a guy almost killed himself and the big traffic accident was. They have superpowers, from space! He told that before, you know. He said his superhero name is the Human Torch!”

Darcy scratched her chin, looking over to where the guy walked out of the place with two girls at each side, ‘supporting’ him. “Uh-huh.” She rolled her eyes. Superhero or not, apparently, he wasn’t the smartest cookie around. She could just hope that her brother didn’t get any ideas from the show, or her mother would rip her head off for ever taking him. “Well, let’s go and get you that ice cream.”

 

*

 

 

Darcy hears the name ‘Human Torch’ on the news a couple of days later. She is actually kind of proud that she’s watching it at all. Then again, she’d go fantastic lenths to procrastinate applying for an internship. She was already late, what could a couple of days more hurt, right? So she sat on the couch, with some wool in her lab, knitting a scarf for herself. As the breaking news came on, though, she put the knitting stuff down unconsciously. It was a live footage of the group called ‘Fantastic Four’ fighting some bad guy that was identified by what the people yell at each other as ‘Von Doom’.

That name vaguely rang a bell, but Darcy didn’t get time to think about it, when suddenly that Johnny Storm guy really did burst in flames – all of him! Fucking all of him was suddenly a flame! And he was flying, in circles, around that metallic-guy. Darcy cracked up the volume, ignoring her roommate’s – Lucy the Lawless – complaint from her room.

She couldn’t help but think, as she observed it, that it was all actually impressive. Reckless and risky, but also all kinds of smart and really heroic. Maybe she wouldn’t mind that much if her brother became like that guy? Lucy came into the living room, prepared to rant out that Darcy was breaking some roommate code when she saw the news. Darcy flinched a bit as Lucy just squealed, and practically threw herself unto the couch next to Darcy.

“Oh, that’s the Torch! He is super fascinating. I mean, the whole group is. I was in that traffic jam the day they first appeared, did you know that? That’s why I didn’t make it to Professor Hanska’s lecture that day. It’s so so cool. Like some Urban Fantasy novel coming true, right?” Darcy couldn’t help but snort. Lucy was such a fangirl-kind-of-girl. She got into things easily, she fell hard for them, and then she spend entirely too much time think about the things and trying to see a deeper meaning to them. It was utterly cute, really, and evertime she did that Darcy remember why she had wanted to become Lucy’s roommate.

“Yeah, somewhat. Though it’s weird. Where did they come from? Do superheroes live underground, among us, and they just outed themselves? Could I be a superhero, too?” Lucy laughed, flicking at Darcy’s nose, before her eyes snapped back to the screen.

“Nah. They didn’t explain it yet, but Mr. Fantasic said that it’s something of a mutation and they’re still looking for an explanation? But here’s doubting that it’d just happen to anyone. No superpowers for poor Darcy or Lucy here.”

Darcy faked a dramatic sigh. “Right. Such a shame. Not that I’d want to use it for the general good, or anything. That fight looked pretty intense.” Lucy nodded, cheerfully.

Still not looking at Darcy as she talked, because she was intensely absorbing anything going on at the screen. Which was mostly the Police securing the scene, reporters trying to get a statement out of the ‘superheroes’. “Talking about intense. Did you finally apply to some internship or what? All the good ones are already taken, get your ass up, Lewis.”

Darcy yawned. “Yeah, yeah, mom, tomorrow.” And with that, she retreated to her room, to play some Pokémon before going to sleep.

 

*

 

Lucy had been right, of cause. By the time Darcy got to apply the standard response had been rejections, and the only places available had been those with people known as being hard-to-earn-credit-points-with. Darcy randomly applied to a handful of them, not really even expecting a response. When some Dr. Foster did reply, though, she was really relieved and decided to treat herself that night. She gathered a couple of friends and went to some Irish pub with them, with every intention of getting wasted and get it going with a guy – because despite the happiness of having gotten a place as an intern, she was not quite sure if she was happy with the ‘astrophysicist’ and the ‘New Mexico’ thing.

The pub was a mostly quiet place, and most of the evening was spend drinking, sharing high school stories, or complaining about professors. It was chill night, and Darcy was especially pleased when she managed to get at least two of her friends to play darts with her – something everyone else seemed to despite. When some other random dude asked if she could join in she wasn’t sober enough to realize just who it was – and the other people had the benefit of not living with Lucy the Lawless Fangirl.

 

It took her more than ten turns of watching him with squinted eyes to finally get that face on the screen, the biker and the guy in the pub in line, and she only did get it when the game was over and she was already on her way back to their booth.

She gasped, twirled around and walked back to his table, where he was with … oh, yeah, okay. Where he was with ‘the Thing’ and some woman. “Oh, holy fuck. You’re the hero-dudes. You could have said something.”

A broad smile appeared on his face, and Darcy mused if he was maybe more handsome in reality than on the screen. Probably because he looked… realer. And maybe because he wasn’t actually on fire right now. “Yeah, that’s me. Want an autograph?” Darcy returned the smile with one of her own. “Sure.”

She started rummaging through her handbag, and then held out her timer and a pen to ‘The Thing’. Who looked at her like she had grown a second head for a moment. “My little brother is a huge fan. If you don’t mind…?”

The stony guy grinned at her, and then at Johnny’s slightly surprised expression. “Sure. I’ll try not to break the pen.” The woman next to him chuckled, apparently only now getting the joke. Darcy only now did note that her eyes were directed at nothing in particular. Oh, so she was blind?

When ‘the Thing’ had signed a sloppy ‘T-FF4’ on her timer, she took it back with a grin and stuffed it back into her back. “Thanks. He’ll be so happy.” And then she looked at the Johnny-dude. Yep, definitely handsome. “Oh, and you owe me a rematch for that game back there. You totally cheated, no one can throw this accurate.”

He seemed a bit pacified, and grinned. “Well, what can I say? I’m a superhero, can’t help but being awesome. How about I make it up to you with a drink?” She rolled her eyes. Oh god, she did hope that Donnie wouldn’t become like that when he was grown up. The guy oozed jerk and confidence.

But she was used to that, most college guys were like that. So she shrugged. She had had plans to get wasted and to get laid tonight. He was easy on the eyes and all. “Yeah, why not. I’m just not sure that it’ll settle the score.”

 

At that, Johnny got up, and his grin turned wicked. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll figure something out…. what’s your name again?”

“Darcy.” He snorted, his hand on her shoulders as he softly pushed her towards the bar-counter.

“What kind of name is that?”

“Okay, that’s rude. Now you owe me two drinks.” She was already more than tipsy at that point, but she did notice his arm sneaking around her waist, as they leaned against the counter.

“Hey, I’m just saying. It’s not common, or anything. But it suits you. You’re not quite common, overall.” Oh, he had so been glancing at her girls at that. For a guy who was constantly on the screen with some girl or anther he was not exactly the smoothest. Or most charming. More like cute and way-too-good-looking jerkass.

“Keep it up and I’ll just take my ‘uncommon’-self back to my booth. Besides, you’re one to talk, firecracker.” She found she liked the twinkle in his eyes despite his cocksure attitude. Maybe she was being a bit shallow here, but she found that she didn’t even mind his attitude too much. Probably because of his good looks. That arm that was on her back did have muscles.

“Never said that being ‘uncommon’ is bad, did I? So, what can I get you?” The bartender came over to them, and Darcy put her chin on her hand.

“Make me the most expensive cocktail you have. That jerk here’s paying.” She felt Johnny’s hand on her hip starting to draw small patterns, testing the waters as it sometimes slid a bit higher. A less drunk part of her wondered if she wanted out of this, but when she looked at him now, that part of her stopped thinking. His eyes were a very fascinating shade of blue, his jaw was very manly, and she he surely wouldn’t expect her to stay for breakfast. What more could she want?

“Okay. I just rethought that. I think I might owe you.” His hands were getting bold. 

“You do? That’s always a good thing for me. Why?” She nuddged her hip just slightly against his, and his eyebrow shot up. She licked her lower lip, probably not looking at all like the women in the movies she had seen doing that, but it got the signal across.

“I think I actually should reward you for saving the town and all that. You are a superhero after all, are you not?”

At that, Johnny’s hand seemed to heat up a couple of degrees, but not enough to get uncomfortable. She turned to him, and his second hand found its place on her other hip. “Oh yeah. I totally am and I think you totally should.” Darcy put her hands up, and linked them behind his neck.

“Well, then. Thank you. Oh my hero. Yadda yadda.” And with that, she pulled him down a bit, and smashed her lips against him maybe just a bit too forceful. Curse her drunken lack of balance.

He laughed into the kiss, and it felt all too good and tasted of tequila.

 

 

*

 

Just like she had expected, he had not asked her to stay for breakfast the morning after. They had parted ways without exchanging numbers or anything, and Darcy had gotten proud praise when sneaking into the dorm the morning after from Lucy the Lawless Fangirl.

She strictly avoided telling her that she may or may not have breached the fan girl territory for a couple of hours that night, when he had done _things_ with his hands, his tongue and his heat… good god, no. She just didn’t mention that the Torch or the Thing had been at the pub at all. Darcy had actually spend the rest of her hung-over day packing for New Mexico, making arrangements and such.

 

New Mexico turned out to be interesting enough, and she didn’t exactly think about Johnny at all, until he was in the tv again. It was, again, on the news that she saw him. Which was a bit of a surprise. She still wasn’t a person to regularly watch the news, and Jane…? Well, Jane even forgot to eat if she was engulfed in science. She probably had never switched on the tiny TV she owned before Darcy got to New Mexico.

That day, when Darcy had managed to convince Jane to take a break and eat something, Jane had out of a whim decided to watch the news, and Darcy had kind of frozen in the doorway when Johnny’s face came up. It was a coverage on something that had happened a couple of days ago, with some evil guy they had fought. Johnny was being interviewed on the whole thing, and he was his charming-jerk self.

She shook her head, and walked over to the couch to sit with Jane. The news person was pretty condescending, and a part of Darcy wondered if the Fantastic Four had a PR-Team. Why had no-one told Johnny yet that he shouldn’t bother talking to people of Fox? They were jerks, and bigger and meaner jerks than him.

She winced for him, when the reporter asked if he’d like to say something about the fact that people accused him of streaks of megalomania – and he replied with a shrug, telling him that he actually really liked the Incubus song. What was it with the dude? Either he was fantastically fighting the bad guys or fantastically making a fool of himself in front of the camera. Either way, he seemed to refuse to take anything seriously.

 

 

She did looked away from the screen when Jane, to her right, clicked her tongue. It was the thing Jane did sometimes, unconsciously, when disapproving of something. “What?”

Jane looked at her, then shook her head. “Nothing. I just can’t figure out that boy. Either he is clever or very stupid.”

Darcy took a sip from her coffee cup, curiosity rising. She didn’t get Jane to talk with her about something other than science very often. At least she hadn’t so far. “How come?”

Jane made a contemptuous gesture at the screen. “The act. If he is as carefree as he acts, he’s stupid, I just sometimes hope for the boy he isn’t. People may celebrate them and their abilities right now, and whenever they are actively seen doing something good. But it won’t stay that way forever. And when the people aren’t amused or in awe anymore, they will grow bored or greedy, and they will want their ability or they won’t want them to have it. And either Johnny Storm is clever, and actively trying to win the hearts of people and distract them from the scientific part behind their powers, or … he’s and idiot, and he’s only fuelling the lobby that’s forming against them.”

Darcy can’t help but stare at Jane, impressed and just slightly confused. When did it happen that Jane even paid attention to something that wasn’t her theory? “That’s… actually a good question.”

Jane shrugged, and directed her attention with a bit of a frustrated expression back at her poptart. “I was friends with someone who ended up in a somewhat similar position. Her boyfriend ended up in an experiment that went wrong. I know what happened to him and her life.” And then Jane’s interest in the topic was gone again, and she got up. “Hurry up. I need you to enter some data in a program for me.”

Yep, the interest was gone again. Darcy sighed, as Jane already left the room. “Let me at least finish my coffee, you evil woman,” she mumbled into her cup, her eyes trained on the screen an on Johnny. She tried to see hints for the answer of Jane’s question, if he was taking anything of it serious. She somehow really hoped for him that the clever-part was the right one.

 

 

*

 

 

She didn’t get much time to think about it, though. Somehow her own life turned in a very surreal direction when a god fell from the sky.

She did see Johnny on the news a while after Thor was gone again, when reports were asking him questions about his sister’s marriage. For a moment she thought she saw serious frustration and anger on his face, before he reverts to his smile and makes jokes about it himself, and subtly steering the conversation towards his current thing he had with some model.

It was in that moment, that she simply decided that it was the clever-theory that was true.

She told Jane as much, who just looked up from her precious data in a confused way, before she got what Darcy was referring to, and rolled her eyes. “Yes, that’s nice. And if you spend half as much time putting serious thoughts into this reading here as you put into Johnny Storm we’d be much farther already. Really, do I have to put pictures of him somewhere now to keep you interested?”

Darcy laughed it off, with a bit of a mischievous glint in her eyes. “No, but get me a new iPod and you’ll have my attention and devotion forever.”

 

*

 

The next time she even so much as heard his name was a couple of months later, when she called Lucy, while she packing. She only asked how she was, and Lucy started rambling that she had met Storm and got his signature – on her left breast. Darcy wasn’t even surprised that Lucy considered getting it tattooed.

“Yeah, okay. Your life choices to regret and all. Can we talk about something serious, just for a moment? I’m calling to tell you that I’ll be off to Norway. Jane got offered to do some exciting science there, and it’s all very much on short notice, we’ll have to be at the airport in three hours. Can you call my mother when she’s back from her shift in the hospital? Because she’s in surgery right now.” That, at least, got her Lucy’s attention.

“What? Why are you off to Norway? I thought your internship would be done next week? What about college, Darce?” Darcy put the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she randomly started throwing socks from the socks-drawer into her bag. She was kind of glad that she’s having this conversation with Lucy before she’ll have to have it with her mother. Worked like a test run.

“I’m not dropping out, or anything. I just decided I’ll take a break for a bit. Jane needs me. Or, more like, she wants me here, and I want top do this. I study so I can do something with my life, see something, and all that. Would be kind of backwards to go back to college to stop doing something with my life just when it gets exciting, right?” She’ll have to work out how she’ll phrase that for her mother, though.

Lucy seemed to get it, at least, even if there was a very long, silent pause at the other end of the line. “…yeah, maybe. But I won’t be explaining that to your mother, I’ll leave that to you. You’re really something, Darcy, you know that?” Darcy turned to her pants next, and started shuffling through them, smiling a bit.

“Yeah, somehow I get that frequently. Thanks, though. I’ll call you when I am in Norway. I heard they have seriously good looking guys over there. But you’re more for the hot-stud-guys and not for the icy-viking-type, huh?” Lucy laughed.

“You got it. Though I’m really getting mind-monogamous right now. I think there was chemistry between me and Johnny.”

Black or Red pants? How cold was it in Norway, anyway? “Chemistry, huh?” She almost cringed when she heard Lucy do the dreamy-fangirl-sigh.

“Yeah. You know, I think he just needs someone to love him. I think I could tame the guy.”

Okay, at that Darcy paused, a bit bewildered. What the fuck was going on with Lucy sometimes? Tame him? Why did she think she could, or that she should need to? Why fall for a guy who was known for not doing the whole relationship thing if that's exactly what you're looking for? 

“You sure? Why not just settle for a hot guy who doesn’t need taming in the first place? There are plenty of guys out there who would adore the living shit out of your cute little face.”

Lucy, at the other end, scoffed, and Darcy could practically see her wrinkle her nose a bit. “You don’t get it. You don’t get him. Well, but I can’t explain it to you, I have places to be. Talk to you later, Lewis.”

“Yeah, Bye-bye.”

 

 

*

 

That she hadn’t gotten through to Lucy became evident after the whole thing in New York where the Aliens went down. She sat with Jane on the airport, watching the news footage a couple of days later. They were waiting for the flight back to New Mexico, now that they had more or less found down out what had happened. And that Thor had not come for Jane, even though he had been on earth.

Jane was in a do-not-talk-to-me-state of mulling over everything that had happened in the last 48 hours, of having been manipulated by SHIELD, of the disappointment that they had not been actually interested in her research, of the disappointment that Thor had not come for her, and the triumph knowing that it was, indeed, possible to create Einstein-Rosen-Bridges, even if Loki had been the one to create them.

Darcy suspected that the later would in the end outweigh all of the former, because that was just who Jane was, but until then she needed to leave her the time she needed. So she sat a bit away from her, and had called Lucy on a whim, to inform her that she was on her way back to New Mexico.

Lucy was again in ‘Lawless Fangirl Mode’ when she called. Not because she had gotten that signature tattoo, but because she had, apparently managed to work with her chemistry theory.

“Okay, so, a friend of mine from the gym texted me that Storm was on that party of hers. Of cause, I was there in, like, ten minutes. Maybe twenty, tops. And I was so looking fab that night. I didn’t bullshit around either, I just got him a drink and we danced and then we took it out of there. Oh god, Darce, I swear I will never have a day like this in my life again. I just got home, too. It was fantastic. I swear, I’m so not surprised that he is big with the ladies. I left my number in his phone, now I just need to see if he wants to call me. Do you think he’ll call? God, I hope he’ll call.”

Darcy flinched a bit as Lucy reached the end of her rant. What was a appropriate reaction to that, if she wanted to be a good friend? Congratulating her for reaching the height of her fangirling career or to try and induce some realism into that?

“Well. Why’d you want that? Don’t you have to move on to the next icon worthy of your admiration and hunt that one down? Lucy the Lawless, truly the amazonian queen of her vagina. I’m proud of you.”

Darcy heard Lucy snort, and was just reliefed to have outmanoeuvred that cliff. Today was not a good day to wash Lucy’s head or try to at least understand her point of view on the matter. “Well, the queen and her vagina thank you for the praise. When do you plan to return to my court, by the way, if you’re on your way back from that forlorn cold place? Or are you lost for college for good? What did your mum say?” 

Darcy huffed, a bit annoyed. “My mum? My mum pretended to care for, like, five minutes. You know she never got why I did go into political science. If I abandoned that to get into _real_ science she wouldn’t complain for a second.” And then, with a glance to Jane, who didn’t show any sign of having overheard Darcy’s conversation, she added “But yeah, I plan on graduating at one point. I just don’t know when. Not this term. I can’t really leave Jane right now.”

“You can’t or you won’t?” Was the answer that she got back, with a hint of irritation. Irritation that was, in Darcy’s eyes, severely misplaced.

”Maybe both. At least I’m committing myself to something else than just Fangirlism. Why are you so judgy about this?”

“Because I care, Lewis. And if that scientist you’re with would care about you, she’d make sure you finish college before running off with her.” Darcy rolled her eyes, and let her head fall back, staring at the ceiling as she seriously fought down her own irritation with Lucy. She was so dramatic sometimes.

“That’s… sweet. And I gotta go, I need some coffee before I get on that plane. Call you later.”

“Yeah. Keep your fingers crossed for me that he calls, though.”

“…sure.”

 

 

*

 

Darcy did return to college that term, despite what she claimed. Mostly, because Jane promised that she’d call her if anything happened and Thor showed up. And she promised to call her if she found someone willing to support her theory. Because after the whole thing with Norway, Jane blatantly refused to work together with SHIELD on any level anymore at all. Especially because the had refused to hand her any of the readings on what went down in Manhattan. And they had just went and put Erik in a SHIELD somewhere in London, where they could keep an eye on him.

Darcy would bet her ass that Jane was not only looking for someone to fund her, but specifically looking for someone to fund her in London. She wasn’t even surprised when she returned to Jane after graduating three months later and Jane told her they’d go to London. She was, however, a bit surprised to find out that Jane had somewhat given up on Thor. Or that she was in the process to do that.

It kind of ripped her heart out when they moved into the little flat together, and she saw Jane putting the Journal with Thor’s drawing of that weird galaxy-tree away in the darkest places of her most unused stuff. Like she actually wanted to throw it out and just couldn’t, and now had to put it out of sight, so maybe she could forget.

It made her wonder. Would she ask Jane to move on, like she had tried to persuade Lucy to do in the last couple of months? Lucy was fangirling over a guy and sulking that he hadn’t turned out to be the guy to call her back. (Honestly, Lucy was sulking over the fact that the guy was just exactly what he had promised to be. It weirded Darcy out to no end). But Jane was heartbroken of a guy who had promised to get back to her, through the galaxy, even though both technically knew it to be almost impossible. It spoke volumes that he had promised to try anyway.

And it spoke volumes that Jane had tried to make it possible.

But was it… worth it? Jane needed people she could count on, and she couldn’t count on a guy who had nine realms to protect and who wasn’t even here. But what if she needed to count on herself? On her ability to make it possible? Was she to encourage her or not?

 

Back in Norway she had been the one to tell Jane that it looked unlikely that Thor would return. In London, Darcy found that their roles were swapped. Now she was the one to tell Jane to have faith, to keep going. She found herself monitoring everything when Jane just seemed to fall apart, and she found herself looking for her own fucking intern just so she could keep Jane’s science together based on her notes and the things she had learned. She fought to keep Jane together.

So she was also the one who ordered Jane to take a shower one night and get dressed fancy, because they would have a girls night out away from science. As Jane was in the shower Darcy switched on the news of their TV. There was some celebrity gossip show running and she’d probably switched channels if she they hadn’t brought a picture of Sue Storm and Reed Richards that moment. Her finger hovered over the remote, but she waited.

They were speculating about how and where the secret marriage of Sue and Reed had happened, and what she had been wearing. That wasn’t that bad. But then they started speculating, because the couple had been seen together alone more often, and Johnny was seen less often in company of some woman or another, and apparently, to that gossip show, it was solid proof that poor Johnny had an unhealthy form of oedipal love for his sister, who had been more of a mother to him after the tragic death of their parents. And now he was doomed to see her happy with the man he had looked up as to a father figure, breaking women’s hearts as we went along, while his own little heart broke all over from his inappropriate feelings.

Darcy didn’t switch channels; she just shut down the whole thing, feeling somehow dirty having watched this. What the fuck was wrong with the world? That was gross, seriously gross. If she’d be the Johnny, she would burn down the building of that channel with mad, cackling and very much villainous laughter, and it wouldn’t even feel villainous at all. It would probably be a good deed for mankind.

But seriously, how did he deal with that? Darcy was just happy when Jane got out of the bathroom now.

“Just a minute, I’ll be there in a heartbeat. Have you seen my shoes? I swore I had shoes with black heels. I haven’t worn them in years.” Yeah, those were better problems to deal with. Darcy jumped up from her place.

“You can have one of my pairs. As a reward for showering.”

 

 

*

 

 

Okay, so. London escalated into a fiasco pretty quickly. And she wasn’t even just referring to the whole Dark Elves, Universe Crash and Thor Is Back Situation with that. She felt the most bothered by her and her intern’s thing.

She was almost heartbroken when she had to tell him that he needed to find a new intern to Intern with. Not because he hadn’t been cute or hadn’t been trying. He had been trying and flirting all along, and she’d known from the start. Especially, though, of cause, when he had seriously given her his shoe, just so she could throw it around in an abandoned building. That’s why she had decided not to tap that cute, slightly nerdy ass.

Ian was the good-guy-type, and he was obviously more into her than she was into him. The fact that she had kissed him after he had saved her life shouldn’t have changed a thing. When it became clear to her that he wasn’t really going to be ‘friends with benefits’ with her, she had slammed on the breaks.

And having to leave him behind on his couch with this sorrowful expression, like a kicked puppy, was seriously not a nice feeling.

 

 

When she got back to her’s and Jane’s place it was only partially soothing to see that atleast Jane was happy and engulfed in… Thor. Oh god.

Darcy fled to her room as silently as she could, not really needing that awkward conversation now. She should maybe get Jane to think about moving. Or would they just stay in London? What was the plan, anyway, with Thor around now? Their place was cramped from the start, it was bursting out of seams with Thor. Either all three of them should get a new place – which she wouldn’t mind, she had lived together with Lucy the Lawless Fangirl, Amazonian Queen of her Vagina, she knew how it was to have a roommate have her lovers (of all available genders and sexes, by the way, Lucy the Lawless fangirled over anyone whom she deemed pretty) – or Jane and Thor should just move in together and Darcy could find a smaller place for herself. Or she could persuade Lucy to come to London with her.

Thinking of the devil. Darcy was a bit surprised to find that she had gotten a Text while she had pseudo-broken-up with Ian from one of Lucy’s ex-girlfriends.

Miranda (aka Prada Devil, because who had that name anymore? Too good of an opportunity) had been the one who had formerly lived with Lucy. She was the ex-girlfriend who Lucy usually fell back to after a bad breakup, the one she had sometimes still sex with, and, in Darcy’s opinion, probably the love of Lucy’s life. She was convinced that Miranda was still in love with Lucy, too.

But, more importantly, Miranda had also been a political science major and had tutored Darcy for a while, so they were friends, somewhat. Every once in a year Miranda spontaneous called to check in on her. Darcy decided not to just text back, she called.

 

 

“Prada Devil! Good to hear of you! How’s it going?” The reply was a deep laugh that almost made Darcy’s knees weak. Miranda had a voice like velvet. Darcy had once or twice fancied going lesbian for Miranda.

“Darling. Glad that you called back. You know that I actually own a Prada-Coat now? I am entirely blaming you.”

“I accept the blame for that. Are you swimming in money now, working for Senator Mori and all that?” Darcy pulled of her scarf and her hat and threw them on the bed.

“No, my girlfriend works in a store, so she get’s things off. And this Coat was damaged property. Anyway, how are you? I saw the news on London. Lucy says your fine?”

Darcy let herself fall on her bed, and closed her eyes. It seemed surreal that for once, something about her life had been on the news, somewhat. She was just glad that no-one knew. “Yeah, I’m completely undamaged. The only damage in my life right now is psychological. My roommate is having a fantastic sexlife and I just broke up with a sweet english guy. You know how much I love English accents. And you? New girlfriend? Do I know her?” Probably… not, if she worked in a fancy Prada-store. Didn’t hurt to ask anyway.

“I doubt it. Piper is actually from Vegas, she just moved here for her job. She’s very sweet with a potty-mouth. Reminds me a bit of you. You should come around and meet her, you know I always have a place for you on my couch. Or in my bed.”

Darcy laughed, at that. For a bit, Lucy had been a bit offended how well her Ex and Darcy got along, but she got over it when Darcy pointed out that she and Lucy had shared guys before, and that Miranda and Lucy themselves had gone back to being friends either way. “Thanks for the reminder. How is Lucy, though? You talked to her? Because I can’t seem to reach her for the last week.”

 

She heard Miranda sigh heavily, before she spoke, though she clearly tried to keep her voice neutral.

“She is hung up over Storm. He never called, and when she called, he just asked her to loose his number. In a nicer way, from what I gathered, but you know her. She had this fairytale thing in her mind. I feel like she was imagining him to be the hot-stuff on the outside and the cute Captain America on the inside. And with her ‘headcanon’ for people, she get’s fixated.” Darcy rubbed one hand over her head. Oh hell. Yeah, she knew that. Miranda would know a piece or two about that, too. The fixation on how things were supposed to be had been a big part of why she and Miranda had called off their relationship.“And she might be avoiding you, because one of the people you were at the bar after scoring your internship mentioned having seen you two leaving together.”

Okay, now Darcy just cursed. That was an unlucky coincidence. No one in that bar that night even knew Lucy.

“Goddamit. She’s totally taking that the wrong way, isn’t she?”

Miranda chuckled, but it was humourless. “Is she ever taking it a different way? Though I get it, it must have seemed a bit weird to her that you didn’t tell.”

Darcy rolled unto her stomach, her cushion under her chin. This day was just not getting better. “Well, because it wasn’t a big thing. I was drunk, we boned, that’s that. A one-nighter. She would have never stopped talking about it, and I didn’t feel like having her go full firlgirl-mode on me. Besides, it’s hard to judge with her how she’ll react sometimes, and I was off to my internship just a week later. And when I came back six months later? It just didn’t seem important or came up.”

Darcy was pretty sure she could hear Miranda put on some water in the background. If Miranda got tea, she was annoyed, or tired.

“Yeah, Darling, I get that. But you’re explaining this to the wrong person. I’ll tell Lucy to call you, I was just on my way to her anyway. She and Piper should meet before Piper feels like Lucy is a thread to her. Or the other way round, now that I think of it. Don’t stress yourself over it, okay? Lucy will come around.”

Darcy rolled from her stomach to her side, staring at the picture of her and Lucy on her nightstand, directly besides the one of Darcy with her family. “Yeah, sure. It just sucks when she’s like that. Thank you for calling. And for caring. And talking to her, you know. Be brave, soldier, when you go into the dragon’s den.”

Miranda laughed again, before they aid their goodbyes and hung up.

Darcy closed her eyes, remembering their good days in the first term. It was surprising that she only now realised how she missed that bit of her life. Maybe she should ask Jane if it was okay to go back to America. She was so through with London right now.

 

*

 

It’s kind of anti-climatic when Jane brought up the subject before Darcy could over breakfast the next day. Jane wanted to get back to America herself, Thor would appreciate being closer to the other members of his fine band of warriors, and of cause Darcy had to come along, _please._

It was cute that Jane at leased had asked, and not just decided things. So she had given her consent, and Thor had called his Man of Iron, and the relocation pretty much was out of hands.

It was also all kinds of weird to get moved into a penthouse that was bigger than all places you had ever lived in combined, but she didn’t complain. She only felt half useless now, too. Jane did get the offer for helpful scientific assistants from Stark, but turned them town in favour of Darcy. (The offer SHIELD dared to make wasn’t even considered.)

When Stark asked her why she settled for one poli-sci person instead of the group of well-trained science-lackeys from the MIT he had offered, Jane even got angry on Darcy’s behalf. She said things like ‘learned quite a lot’ and ‘kept it going when I couldn’t’ and ‘potential’ and ‘proud’ and ‘best friend’ and ‘made me shower’ before Darcy finally asked her to stop because it was getting embarrassing for the both of them.

The downside of that praise was, of cause, that Stark thought she must be fun to be around, and he kept prodding her and giving her nicknames and tried to lure her into his lab as well. Where Darcy didn’t go out of principle and a loyalty to Jane that was just fiercer than ever.

 

So when SHIELD finally gave up on trying to win Jane back for the dark side (sadly, they didn’t try bribing with cookies), they at least made her and Darcy sign things to protect the people that were sort of working for them – the Avengers.

It was kind of a deal that they couldn’t say things and more or less had to stop by for check-ins every once in a while, and Darcy’s contract contained special agreements that she was also strictly forbidden from mentioning or posting about them on social media. She was pretty sure that had a lot to do with that picture of Thor in New Mexico, back in the day. Ah, good times. She should ask him to smash a coffee cup again, for nostalgia’s sake.

 

For now, though, Jane and Darcy had been brought to some official shield building, and while Jane got talked to about her science again, Darcy sat in the hallway, on a chair close to the coffee-maker, texting with Tony about the possibilities of getting a similar thing for Jane’s lab. Just when Tony got around to agreeing that a normal coffee machine wouldn’t do for the level of caffeination Jane needed, the elevator a bit further down the hallway got opened.

Darcy was quite surprised to see the Fantastic Four coming out, following two agents. Mr. Fantastic was having a discussion with the suited guy who looked ‘important’ in all the bad ways. Especially in the ‘I am your superior’-way.

“It is not for me to decide, Mr. Richards. Director Furry has given direct orders that you are to be assigned a recon-agent, and Agent Carter is capable and very willing. You will find her to be very helpful.” It was Johnny, though who replied first, in throwing his hands up and squeezing himself past Reed and the Suit guy, block the way for both.

“Just say it as it is. You think we need a keeper. That’s what she is, right? A glorified keeper who puts leashes on us when we’re not needed.”

The suit dude growled. “Agent Carter is assigned to you to be your Liaison for SHIELD and for your PR. It is a thread to your own safety and the safety of the population of the world if you are to go unguided further from here. The world is a battlefield of politics, not one for flames and pretty faces.”

Whoa there. So SHIELD-people weren’t just being asses to scientists? Good to know. Darcy could pretty much visibly see Johnny steaming up with anger, when he just turned, walked into a conference room and smashed the door shut behind him.

The suit-guy turned to Richards again, obviously feeling like he won the argument. “If you follow me please, now. Director Fury’s schedule is tight.” They didn’t take notice as they passed her by for the elevator at the other end of the hallway. Darcy considered just pretending she never saw or heard anything. But then she couldn’t help it. She’s never been good at keeping out of things.

 

With a sigh, Darcy pushed her phone into the pocket of her jeans and walked over to the conference room, with the door of glass. Johnny was leaning against the table with his hips, face towards the wall made out of glass.

She pushed open the door and came in. Johnny didn’t even turn around, though he started talking. “I don’t get them. I just don’t fucking get them, Sue. We safe their lifes and we get treated like outcasts. Or dogs.” The bitterness and intensity of his voice takes Darcy a bit by surprise, for a moment. She considered backing out again, but he already continued. “Of cause, we’re not the fucking _Avengers._ What do they expect? We’re only four people. We only have one genius, and not some historical embodied icon of patriotism, or some fucking god. And Ben really isn’t the hulk, though he tries. They just piss me off, Sue. They really…” He looked up, as Darcy kind of stepped at his side. He blinked. “…piss me off. Uhh. Not Sue.”

Feeling a bit awkward under his gaze and _god, why did she decide to follow him anyway,_ she held out her coffee for him.

“Don’t take it to hard. SHIELD is just big on keeping things under their control. And any superhero is kind of hard to control.” He took the coffee and Darcy tried a bit of a grin. He looked older. The slightly longer hair looked good on him, as did the muscles. And had he grown? She’s sure he had grown. “If it makes you feel any better, it isn’t all rosy for the Avengers either. I mean, I clearly don’t know shit, I only know one of them really at all, but that guy has issues; and the other guy I know pretty much makes it his life mission to give SHIELD the middle finger. Don’t let it drag you down.”

 

She must have been doing a horrible job at peptalking him, because he only narrowed his eyes a bit. When did she get to be the one to be peptalking people?

She was just about to tell him that she’ll just go and that they can both pretend she never was here when suddenly, his eyes widened a bit, and he snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “I know you, right? We did…?” He made a clicking noise and moved his hands, which probably meant sex. She could’t help but laugh. Thank god Johnny was still Johnny and cared more about Sex than about SHIELD.

“Yeah, we boned, in my college dorm. If it helps, I think you might remember my giant Alf-plush on the nightstand. At least you said that you’d never forget his face.” 

His whole face lit up at that, and now he finally took a sip from her coffee. “Oh, yeah, right! I do remember that hideous thing! Had been entirely weird to look at it while we were at it. I think I had a nightmare about that weeks later. You still have it?” It’s amusing that he still looked so happy when he’s talking about the nightmare.

Darcy leaned against the table by his side, and looked out over the skyline of Manhattan with him, Stark’s Tower looming over just about everything. How exactly had she ended up here, anyway? “Sure, Alf’s been around. I’ll tell him that you still think about him. You know, maybe he’ll give you call, but don’t get your hopes up. He’s a one-night kind-of-guy.”

Johnny snorted, took another sip from her coffee before handing it back. “A boy can dream, right? And how are you? We parted on… good terms, right?”

For just a second, Darcy thinks about Lucy, and about mentioning her. But really, what good would that do? It was Lucy who had to learn a thing or two about how one-night-stands worked, not Johnny. So she just nodded. “Yeah, we did. I had no reason to complain.”

He seemed relieved, at that. How many more Lucys might be outside in this town – or other towns – hoping to get a call from him? Angry, because he wasn’t like that guy from that Nicholas Sparks book? “Great.” And then, there’s just a tiny change of tone as he speaks on. A hint of uneasiness, maybe suspicion. “And how did you end up here? In this place, I mean?”

She takes a big sip from her coffee. That was the question of her entire life, seemingly. ‘How did this happen?’ She really didn’t have the answer in her. But she knew that it’s not the answer he’s dreading, after what she saw happening on the hallway. She patted his arm. “Don’t worry, firecracker. I’m not with SHIELD. I’m just the lame assistant to a brilliant scientist who kind of works with the Avengers. And she beds one of the Avengers. Long story. I’m just here for the coffee, waiting that we can get back to the lab.” At that, her phone rang, and when she took it out, Jane’s name flashed on the screen. She grinned up at him, again, and for a moment, she feels almost nostalgic. As much as he had grown into his face in the meantime, his eyes had kept the same shade of mesmerizing blue. “And that’s my cue. Gotta go.”

She held her hand out for him, and he took it, with a bit of a grin. “See you around, Torch?”

“You can call me Johnny. We had an actuall conversation that didn’t lead to immediate sex, that’s an accomplishment.”

She snorted. “An accomplishment for who, exactly? I hope you’re not implying me. Well, anyway. Bye, Johnny.”

“Bye, … Darcy! Your name was Darcy, right?” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah. And if you plan on being rude about it again, you don’t get to use my name anymore.” With that, her phone stopped ringing. Darcy headed for the door, waving over her shoulder again. “Bye, firecracker. And heads up, you’ll crack SHIELD.”

 

 

*

 

 

She saw Johnny again way sooner than she actually expected. One morning she just came out of the lab in a hoodie and sweatpants, her hair in the messiest of all buns, on her way to Tony’s lab because _for fucks sake, didn’t he know not to call Jane before her first coffee? Now she’ll be cranky as well for the rest of the day and Darcy refused to be the one who had to put up with it, go down there and do something now_ , when he just stood there, in Tony’s lobby, with a toddler on his arm, walking up and down, mumbling something.

He looked less like the handsome womanizer everyone knew him as like that, especially because of the dark circles beneath his eyes and the fact that he was looked pretty worn himself. She couldn’t help but grin, and she shoved her hand in the front pocket of her sweater and walked over to him.

“So it happened, huh? You got a kid. I think there was an open betting pool in The Guardian about that.” He looked at her, a bit surprised, like he wasn’t quite sure where to place her. She was just about to tell him that she was the Alf-chick again, when he grinned.

“No, thank god. I’m very religious when it comes to protection, as you should actually recall. What are you doing, here, though? I thought your boss was the one banging an Avenger?”

“She is. And that’s why her lab is in the tower, and that’s why we have to live as closes to the lab as possible. Because I don’t allow them to bang in the lab, and the guy has a superhero-libido. She can keep up with it, though, apparently. Congrats on not being father, on that note. Maybe you could star in a protection-add. Judging by the fact how your _burn_ through the condoms, the industry probably loves you and your manhood anyway.”

 

Johnny clearly fought down a grin and mimicked a mock-shocked expression, putting one hand over an ear of the sleepy toddler. “Not in front of the kids, _Darcy_!”

Darcy gave him the blank stare. Because yeah, she did notice the way he emphasized her name. “Oh, you remember my name. So proud. Very wow.” She then peered at the kid, who seemed to be half asleep. Cute little blond locks and half-closed blue eyes. “So, whose kid did you kidnap then?”

Johnny pointed with his thumb at Stark’s lab. “That’s my nephew. Sue and Reed are with Stark right now. They’re doing important science, but 7am is too early for the kid. They brought him along, he was sleepy and wailed and Stark got annoyed, so Sue called me and asked me to pick him up. I’m just waiting for Ben to come over and pick _me_ up, now.”

Darcy looked at the little cutie. No wonder he looked a bit like Johnny. Only in an entirely unspoiled way. “Stark is an old mean man. How very generous of you to safe Tony, though.”

He winked at her, and she was exactly zero percent surprised at the mischief in his eyes. “Well, and then there’s the fact that a guy with a cute kid is, like, the ultimate chick magnet. Not even guy with puppy can beat that, I think.”

At that, Darcy rolled her eyes, but she had to laugh at it, anyway. She should have seen that coming. “And _that_ ’s the Johnny I know.”

 

Johnny shifted the kid a bit, and then tilted his head. “Is it working, though?”

Darcy needed a moment before she knew what he was even talking about. Then she raised her eyebrows at him, looking him over in a very pointed way. “Are you seriously asking me if I want to jump your bones because that little bug is drooling all over your shoulder?”

Johnny stiffened, and tried to look at his shoulder without moving the kid and waking it. “What? Seriously? Fuck. You’re not a good wingman, kid.”

Darcy laughed, shaking her head a bit. She contemplated asking him about what happened with the SHIELD-deal, but he seemed so at peace right now that she figured she shouldn’t bring up that bitterness again. Besides, it was none of her business anyway. She patted his arm, and then turned, to walk towards Tony’s lab, because _guests or not, he had to pay for Jane’s mood, she wasn’t going back in there until Tony did something to soothe the science-ire_.

“Yeah, yeah, if it makes you feel better, I’m totally hot for drooly-you. See you around, Johnny” And she said that with the sweetest tone of sarcasm she could.

“Is that a promise?” She paused, a bit surprised, and looked back over her shoulder, turning just a bit. She shrugs, then.

“Well, if you don’t feel threatened by it, I guess that’s the only other option.”

He grinned. “No, sorry, I don’t sense a thread there.” With his free hand, he reached into the pocket of his jeans, and pulled out his phone, holding it out for her. “Wanna give me your number?”

Darcy contemplated it. He was asking for her phone number, not for a quicky. She should be fine. “Yeah, why the hell not. Someone needs to tell you when you’re being drooled on, I guess.” She walked back to him, and put her number in the phone.

When she hands it back, he glances at it, then he looks up at her, with a lopsided grin. “I feel tempted to test if it’s the real number right now. That’s a first.”

Darcy laughed. “Painful, isn’t it? Well, It’s real. Protect it with your life, hot stuff. And now I really need to go and rip Tony a new one. Have fun with your Nephew.” At that, she went away towards the lab again.

 

 

*

 

 

Just the fact that he had her number didn’t exactly make her expect that he’d call or text her, though. In fact, she might have been hoping that he wouldn’t. It took him only one week to send her message, though. ‘ _Reed wants to know if Foster would come over tonight. Stark is invited, too. Sue’s making lasagne and Reed’s preparing science as the desert - Jonathan._ ’

Darcy is a bit amused by the fact that he signed the text with his whole name. Did anyone ever call him that? She put the phone away. “Hey, Jane, I just got a message that Sue Storm and Reed Richards invite you and Stark for science at their place tonight. You up for a play date?” Jane looks up from whatever important readings she has, frowning a bit.

“Well, yes. I already told Sue yesterday, in an e-mail. I told her I’ll bring the wine.” Darcy shrugged.

“Maybe she didn’t get around reading it yet.” She picked the phone up again. ‘She’ll come with wine, and, if I have a say in it, showered and in fresh clothes. I’ll do my best, but no promises.’ She refused to sign her text, though.

A couple of seconds late she got a laughing smiley, and then ‘ _I didn’t know that was a problem all scientist had. And here I though it was just Reed. So I can have hope for my Nephew, as long as he doesn’t turn out to be a genius.’_

Darcy snorted. With the genes this kid had and the environment it grew up in it was probably hard not to turn out fantastic – all puns intended. ‘ _I’ll keep my fingers crossed for him. Make sure to dumb the genius in him down with endless loops of TV-Shows, Uncle-of-the-year._ ’ 

Again, his reply came almost immediately. ‘ _So, now that I know for a certain that you have the night off – wanna join me, Ben and his girl for a night in the pub?_ ’

Oh, smooth, Storm! She was almost impressed. He had pretty much left her no option for turning him down with a polite white lie if she didn’t want to. But… well, how bad could a night with him and his friends be? It wasn’t a date. If it would have been an offer for a date, she would have turned him down without even bothering to lie.

‘ _Is it the pub I think it is?_ ’

‘ _Yeah. It’s kind of our thing. We flee there like the refuges we are to play darts and drink beer while the smart and crazy people do science. Or, you know, when Sue and Reed have awkwardly loud sex._ ’

Darcy chuckled, which earned her a reprimanding glance from Jane. ‘ _I can relate. Could me in_.’

 

 

*

 

 

For most of the evening, she was really glad she agreed to come along. Ben was a funny guy, and Alicia turned out to have a wicked sense of humour and a great taste in audio-books. They were hooked on the same reader – because he was terrible - and it was fun to hear Alicia doing an impression of the way he mispronounced some words.

And Johnny was… well, Johnny. He challenged her to darts, and he flirted pretty much like it was second nature to him. She had to admit, though, that when she got a bit tipsy she contemplated actually doing a rerun of that night a couple of years ago. Specifically the part that had happened after they had left the bar. And god, was she blushing at the thought? What had become of her? She was pretty sure, though, that he was way more drunk than he was.

 

When she came out of the bathroom, he was leaning in the hallway on a wall, grinning at her with lazy grin, opening his arms for her. She laughed, but she went into the hug anyway, linking her hands behind his back as if it was something they frequently did.

“You know what makes me sad, Darce?” She leaned back in the hug, so she could see his face. Maybe it was time to get him home, he looked tired.

“No, what?”

He raised one hand from her back, to push an uncomfortable strand of hair from her face. “We could have had this years ago. Fun in the pub, and all that. I should have just asked for your number then already. Should have given you a shot. We could have been friends for years by now.”

Darcy snorted, and rolled her eyes. Okay, yeah, drunken Johnny trying to be serious was not exactly working out too well. “I’m pretty sure that _I_ wouldn’t have given you my number or a shot at this. Besides, I wasn’t around anyway. Don’t think too hard about it and let’s get back inside.”

He held her in place, though, when she made an attempt to move out of the hug. “Why? Why wouldn’t you have given me a shot?”

Darcy shruged, opening her mouth, but no words come to mind, so she just shok her head a bit helplessly. She could tell him it was because of her, because she wasn’t looking for a friend or something steady, but that was only part of the deal. Honestly speaking, if she had been looking for a friend, she wouldn’t have been looking with him. When had it happened that she had started wondering if there was more to him? Was that back in New Mexico? And, did it even matter?

 

Before she could say anything, though, the door from the pub to the hallway of the bathroom got pushed open. Darcy was a bit surprised when she looked at the direction out of reflex and found that she recognized the person standing there. Again, she moved out of the hug, but this time Johnny let her. “Lucy?”

Lucy, in a cute little dress, but with her cute little face all angry and flushed. She came over to them, and pointing her index finger at Darcy, poking her in the chest quite forcefully, like she was actually trying to stab her with her finger. “Yeah, me. Surprise, huh, so now you can’t keep it a secret this time. And you wouldn’t have told me, would you? Because you know that it’s wrong, you feel _guilty_. I don’t even know why I’m surprised. Not the first time that you’re with him, is it? Was that in a toilet, too, like some cheap hooker? A good friend you are. Have always been. You jump anyone who’ll take you and doesn’t ask questions too much, right? No one who can be a thread to you. And you tell me that I have false expectations. You slept with him, too, didn’t you? And now you’re here, with him. As if that doesn’t mean anything. And you don’t even care what I think about it. I don’t even know why I’m so angry. That’s just how you are. You’re a bitch.”

Okay, wow. Lucy’s speech was slurred, which explained the flush. She was wasted. Darcy made a step backwards, because the pocking fucking hurt.

“Hey now. I don’t know who you are, but I jumped her as much as she jumped me. Blame me, okay?”

Darcy shot Johnny a look when he moved away from the wall toward Lucy, clearly intending to play the superhero right now, too, and help her. If anything, he made it worse. Darcy had seen Lucy flinching when he mentioned that he didn’t know her.

She held out a hand and softly pushed him back to his wall, her eyes fixed on Lucy, who seemed to be very close to breaking down. It made Darcy all kinds of sad to see her friend like that, over _nothing_. Because clearly Lucy lashed out because she was hurt. Darcy knew that she shouldn’t take it personal. But she was also… annoyed. Really annoyed. Miranda had said that Lucy would over it, and it had seemed that way for the last couple of weeks, too. But it didn’t seem like she really had gotten her head around anything at all.

 

Darcy pushed her hair back, irritated with the whole situation. Her head hurt, and she felt entirely too sober for this whole scene. She didn’t even look when the door was pushed open and someone else came into the bathroom, too. Frankly, she didn’t care.

“Look, Lucy. I love you, but you have to get your shit together, okay? You slept with him, and yeah, I get it, he’s your hero and all and the sex was good. Big deal, though. It was just sex, and you fucking knew that. Don’t pretend that you didn’t, you’re smarter than that. So your drama? It’s because you’re fucking clinging to your stupid fantasy. He never told you he’d put a ring on your finger, did he? No, he didn’t. You tried to woo him, it didn’t work. Move on. Go and sleep with some other guy, not with your idea of an ideal guy, for once, for heavens fucking sake. And then call me when you’re sober again, because we _really_ need to talk about this.”

She just grabbed Johnny’s wrist and pulled him along as she pushed past Lucy, who didn’t even try to stop them, just quietly sobbing now, which kind of broke Darcy’s heart.

She was a bit surprised to find that the other person who had come in was Miranda. She looked like she had just swallowed a hedgehog. She held out one arm for Darcy, and Darcy allowed her to pull her into a quick hug, though Darcy only returned it with one arm, the other hand still wrapped around Johnny’s writs. “I’ll call you tomorrow, and I’ll get her home. Sorry that I didn’t stop her.” Then she let go of Darcy, and walked over to Lucy.

Darcy paused at the door, looking back at Lucy, now wrapped in Miranda’s arms. She felt awful, she couldn’t deal with this right now.

 

Darcy continued to pull Johnny out of the bathroom, and then, because she couldn’t stop and she was still fuming, out of the pub as well. She walked over to a bench under a streetlamp and sat down, inhaling the night air deeply. Johnny sat down, too, with an uncertain expression. Darcy closed her eyes for a moment, relishing in the coolness and the freshness of the air.

“What was that about?”

Darcy laughed, humourless. Clearly his mind had been too fogged up by the alcohol for him to get it. What a blessing. “Well, Lucy is kind of a fan of yours. You slept together after we slept together, and she was kind of hoping you’d call. It’s not really your fault, she just tends to dive head first into impossible expectations.”

Darcy opened her eyes again, and tried to judge his expression as he stared at the bar. There was a hint of worry. “She thought there was more to the sex…. I’m sorry, I guess? ”

Darcy shrugged. “Yeah, well. That’s just Lucy. As I said, I’m not blaming you. And before you get weird thoughts, I never expected that.” She nudged him with her elbow, trying a tired smile, but the corners of her mouth were seemingly tired as well, and her smile was probably wobbly at best. “Don’t worry, hot stuff. I know you’re not that guy. You’re not up for grabbing, and – surprise – I won’t make grabby hands at you. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen.”

She got up from the bank when his expression was this weird kind of tense that she couldn’t identify right now. She just hoped that the Lucy-situation wouldn’t make it awkward between them. “Okay, you know what? I think I want to get home, I’ve had enough for the night.”

He got up as well. “Yeah, me too. Let’s walk, the tower isn’t far.”

Darcy stretched, and yawned. “Good idea. Can you call Alicia and let her know?”

 

He did so, as they got walking. It took them longer than expected to reach the tower, but after an hour of walking Darcy felt at least really sober again. Johnny was still tipsy, one arm around her shoulder, and Darcy didn’t feel like calling a cab, so she decided that he could crash on her couch for the night. What a good friend she was. She was also glad that she had her own place on Jane’s and Thor’s floor, so she didn’t have to wake Jane up.

Johnny walked over to the couch the moment the door was open, and Darcy was amused to see him fiddle with his shoes, trying to get them off without having to bend over and use his arms. With a sigh, she went over to help him, and was only a bit startled when he pushed one hand through her hair as she sat at his left side. “You know. I think I’m not even not up for grabs anymore. I just can’t find the person to grab. No one wants to grab that I want to grab. I’m not boyfriend material. Or I totally am, because I’m hot. But I’m not relationship material.”

Darcy snorted. Where did that come from now? The whole way they had been talking about stars, or maybe his nephew. She put his first shoe away, and then his second. When she stood up, he did too, opening his arms, and she allowed him to pull her into a hug again, though she only awkwardly patted his back.

“Don’t think to hard about it, firecracker. No one is really the magical fairytale person that just magically was made for happily ever after. We just have to pull through the shit with the people that are decent, you know? It’s just a question if your find that person that you think will be worth the fight.” She slipped out of the hug, and made him sit down. She couldn’t help but think that he really looked like a lost little puppy right now. A puppy with incredible blue eyes.

“How do I know if _I_ am worth the fight?” Why were they having such a pseudo-deep conversation again?

Darcy shrugged, helplessly. He had a bad timing for this. She didn’t feel like patiently untangling his mind. “We all are. I believe that there are people out there that we will find, and they will see the thing in us that makes us worthy. It just costs effort to make that person see it, maybe. And you have to see something in that person that makes you want them to see it, of cause. Okay, that sounded more complicated than it is. Don’t think too hard about it, go to sleep, Johnny.”

She pulled away, and he grabbed for her hand. For just a moment, she was pretty sure her heart beat jumped higher. Then she was irritated at herself for that thought. Why would her heart beat quicker now?

“Jonathan. It’s Jonathan. No one takes a Johnny seriously.”

Carefully, Darcy pulled her hand from his grip again. “Right. Good night, _Jonathan._ ” And at that, he allowed her to leave.

 

Darcy just shrugged off her clothing till she was left in her bra and her panties, and then she fell face first unto her bed, wiggling herself under the covers. Her head felt like it was spinning, so maybe she was still more drunk than she thought she was. And though she felt tired, her mind kept drifting back to the sad, lonely expression on his face. Maybe that was the key to it all. That kid that wanted to be worthy of not being alone anymore. Or she had accidentally watching too many soppy gossip shows about the tragic past of the Storm-Siblings. Darcy sighed and rolled over, so she was facing the windows. She shouldn’t think about that anyway. Was she becoming Lucy now, or something?

 

Darcy was just about to finally drift to sleep, when something moved in the room, and Darcy blinked, groggily, at Johnny crouching in front of her bed, in his boxers. “Are you still awake, Darce?”

She blinked, lazily. “No. I’m asleep. I’m dead. Go away.”

He smiled, his eyes seeking hers out, though he probably wasn’t able to see much in the darkness of her room. She could only barely tell that he was smiling at all. “Can I ask you something?”

Darcy fought the urge to groan and just turn away from him. “If the couch isn’t good enough for you, help yourself to the goddamn floor. I’m not sharing my bed. I’m dead tired, Johnny.”

He moved a bit closer to the bed, and it was really hard to avoid his eyes. He sounded almost sober when he spoke now.

“Am I worth the fight?”

Darcy closed her eyes for a moment, and sighed. Sweet baby Thor, let this night end already.

“Told you before. You’ll be, to someone. Lemme sleep.”

He sounded frustrated, almost urgent as he spoke up again, his hand touching her cheek, and she was pretty much forced to open her eyes again. “How do you know that?”

Hell, she didn’t know shit. She wanted to sleep. She desperately tried to wring her last bit of patience out of herself. “Johnny. You’re caring, especially for your family. You’re brave. You play the clown and the entertainer and the womanizer and all that, but you’re not fooling anyone. You make people like you, okay? You’re a charmer, it’s what you do, and you use that, so people don’t turn on you or your family. That person will see that. Sure, you’re a bit of a jackass most of the times, but you’re loveable jackass.” Darcy sneaked one hand out from under her blanket, and flicked her finger against his nose, with a yawn. “And now go the fuck to sleep. You can even sleep in my bed, I don’t care anymore at this point.”

He laughed, and it was quite a warm laugh. Different from his louder one, the one that were blazing and burning and hot like his flames. It was soft. “You wanted that from the beginning, admit it, Darce.” She just growled, and he took that as his cue. He got up, and a moment later there was a weight behind her, the mattress shifted and he tugged on her blanket a bit, so he could sneak underit. She turned around, because it was awkward to sleep with her back to him, but she kept her eyes closed. She feelt him touching her face a moment later again, but thankfully, she was too far in her sleep by then already.

 

 

 

*

 

 

By the time Darcy was awake it was almost noon the next day, and Johnny wasn’t around anymore. Which she didn’t mind, to be honest. The conversation towards the end of the night had just gotten all kinds of cheesy. Neither of them needed to think about that right now. So Darcy took her time for a relaxed shower and breakfast before she threw on some clothes and tentatively checked out the lab, wondering what levels of pissed Jane was at her for coming to work so late. Turned out that Jane wasn’t around, though. She had left a note for her earlier that morning, that she would be out with Thor for the day. Which explained why no one had woken her up. What good thing.

 

Darcy spent the whole noon and afternoon with videogames and facebook, before her phone rang. It was awkward when Lucy is on the other lin. especially because Darcy heard Miranda mumble something and she just knew that Miranda was listening to their every word, making sure that they rekindled. Lucy was stiff, at the beginning, and Darcy was stiff with her, too, but it all kind of melted away when Darcy threw an awkward insult at her, and Lucy threw one back. At that, Lucy kind of erupted into a heap of apologies, curses and feelings about the whole situation, swearing that she was through with Johnny Storm or fangirling over people so much that they couldn’t possibly meet the expectations. Darcy didn’t exactly expect that to be true, but she did know that Lucy would genuinely try, and that was enough for her for the moment.

 

They spontaneously decided to have a movie night together, with popcorn and pizza, and to see Lucy’s remorseful face did make her forget about the spiteful and maybe partially a bit true words of the former night. She couldn’t concentrate on the movie, though. A part of her wondered if Johnny even remembered the scene from the pub, or their awkward conversation. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to remember. But then again, if it got his gears into motion and he started looking for that girl? He kind of deserved it. A person who saw things in him. She hoped he would find her.

 

*

 

Johnny did remember a lot, it turned out He called a couple of days later, asking about the situation with her friend, and if she wanted him to do something about it. He also told her that he thought he had met a girl who was different, and nice, and if she wanted to meet her? Darcy declined, with a bit of scepticism, and a couple of days later he called again, to tell her that it hadn’t worked out. But he had tried, for one week, and that was progress, right? They met up for a coffee every now and then, and he told her how Sue was, or how the research went along, Ben’s and Alicia’s romance, Reed’s research, or is latest experiments with his flames. It seemed he never got tired of finding new ways to master them. She was glad that he didn’t bring up the cheesy-talk again, though.

 

*

 

It was approximately a month later that he called her while she was in the lab. He didn’t call often, he usually texted and asked to meet up, so she knew something unusual happened. Though she did expect that he had probably started a prank war with Ben again, or something. “Johnny, what’s up?”

Johnny’s voice sounded distant, and there was a lot of background noise.

“Can you pick up Alicia and Franklin? They’re in that café ‘La Roche’.” Darcy blinked. Picking up Alicia and the nephew? And then her mind registered what the noise was. Johnny was probably flying. She slid from her chair and made a waving gesture at Jane.

“Sure, on my way. What is going on?”

“Reed was abducted by some… ninja-guys, I don’t know. Sue and Ben are already on their heels. We need to know they’re safe.” Darcy now started running towards the elevator. Ninja-dudes. Wait, okay. She’ll grab Thor. Darcy makes a b-line back into the lab.

“Alight, I’m on it. Don’t worry, I’ll get Thor, they’ll be safe. Take care, okay?”

“I always do. You, too. Be careful.” And with that, Johnny’s line was dead. Jane looked up worried, as Darcy slid into the room again.

“Where’s Thor? I need Thor.”

Jane frowned. “He’s in the gym, with Steve. What’s going on, Darcy, is it-…”

“No time. Explain later. Stay.”

Darcy ran back to the elevator, and smashed the gym button. Only then did she remember that Stark had his home computing system in the whole tower. She didn’t use it too often, mostly because Jane didn’t like it too much. “Jarvis?”

“ _Yes, Miss Lewis?_ ”

“Can you tell Thor to stop whatever he’s doing and meet me at the elevator? There’s an emergency with the Fantastic Four and I need his muscles to protect a kid.”

“ _Certainly, Miss Lewis. Your message is being delayed as we speak._ ” Darcy exhaled in relief. After a small moment, Jarvis spoke up again. “Thor is on his way. Captain Rogers asked if he should assemble the team.”

Darcy blinked, a bit helpless. How would she know. “Tell him that I’m not sure? Some Ninja-dudes abducted Reed Richards, might be good if a couple of them went to help?”

“ _He has been informed_.” With this, the elevator came to a smooth halt.

As the door slid open, Thor already came jogging own the hallway, in sweatpants and a big t-shirt, Mew-Mew in one hand and shoes in the other. Darcy held open the door, with a grin and let him slide in. Then she smashed the button for the lobby. “Thanks, big guy. It’s Johnny’s nephew and the girlfriend of Ben. They’re in a café, and Johnny isn’t certain if they’re safe there. And while I’m fantastic as an intern, I don’t think I could stand up to Ninjas.”

Thor smiled at her, as he put on his shoes. “We will protect them together. You did well to call me.”

“ _Miss Lewis, Mr. Stark has send for a driver and a car for your safety. They will be waiting for you outside of the tower with orders_.” Darcy smiled, with relief.

“You’re a treasure, Jarvis. Tell Tony thanks for me.” And again, the elevator slid open, and Darcy started running, Thor jogging at her side.

 

They practically jumped into the open doors of a black SUV. “We need to get to ‘La Roche’. Do you know the place?” The driver nodded, and as soon as the door was closed behind Thor, he started driving like… a mad man, actually. Which was good. And matched Darcy’s pulse. Thor looked at her, maybe a bit worried.

“What do we know of our foes, Darcy?” She shrugged, and only now noted that she was, like Thor, in sweatpants. And that she wasn’t actually wearing shoes, she was in her socks. Huh.

“Johnny didn’t say much. Ninja-dudes, and they abducted Richards. Which means they probably have to be good, seeing that he can usually escape out of anything. He seemed to be afraid that they’d go after his nephew and the Thing’s girl. I really don’t know what to expect.”

Thor nodded, thoughtfully, but didn’t offer up anything on what he thought about it. And then they came to a screeching halt in front of the café. Darcy jumped out, and her heart almost stopped again, when she saw two black figures currently cornering Alicia, who had the wailing Franklin pressed to her chest, her stick outstretched in front of her. “Thor! That’s her!”

Thor didn’t need to be told twice. With a mighty roar he threw Mew-mew and himself into the battle, and startled the ninja dudes. When one of them was hit by the hammer, the other one seemed to make up his mind. He just grabbed his fallen friend and leaped… five or six feet into the air, sticking to the wall of the building, and the climbing it. Darcy stared after them mouth agape, as Thor walzed over to Alicia.

“Darcy? Is that you?” Alicia’s voice called her down to earth again, and she ran over to her.

“Yeah, I’m here, Alicia, you’re safe. I brought Thor. We’ll get you into a car and to the tower. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Alicia shook her hand, and allowed Thor to take the wailing kid for her. Darcy reached for Alicias arm, and guided her towards the car. “No. They told me that I had to come with them, but nothing more. They didn’t attack. What is going on, Darcy? Is Ben okay?”

Darcy shook her head, helplessly, as Thor helped Alicia into the car. “I really don’t know. Reeds was attacked, they’re trying to get him back. We’ll have to wait.”

Alicia nodded, and Thor handed Franklin over to Darcy to help Alicia with the safety belt. “Alright. Okay. Thank you. Both of you.”

Thor sat down beside the driver. “There is no need for thanks. Friends of Darcy’s are friends of mine. Driver, bring us back to the tower, please.”

 

Darcy held Alicia’s hand for all of the drive, and after a while even Franklin got tired of crying. Alica kept holding unto Darcy’s hand as they got into the tower, the elevator, and were brought up to the penthouse that Darcy, Thor and Jane shared. Thor went straight for Tony’s place, where Pepper was, probably knowing more about the situation by now. Darcy wanted to go along, but she knew she wouldn’t be of any help anyway. So instead she made sure to have Alicia sit on the couch and fetched her blanket some plush-toy for Franklin. After that, all she could do was make some hot cocoa for all of them, sit at Alicia’s side and stare out of the window-front, as if any moment now a blazing body would fly past them with a grin, informing them that all was well.

 

It took another three hours until anything happened at all. Alicia sat on the floor, knitting a bit of the scarf Darcy had started, and Darcy had the almost sleeping Toddler in her arms. She had meant to read, but she couldn’t focus. When Jarvis informed her that Jonathan Storm and Ben Grimes had entered the tower and were on their way to her, she exhaled, and wasn’t sure if she had been holding that breath from the moment that Johnny called.

She got up when the door slid open, and then just stood and stared at Ben. Who was Ben, not Thing. She almost wouldn’t have recognized him, if it weren’t for some pictures in newspapers. She sought out Johnny’s eyes, and he looked tired, and worn. There was also some dried blood on his shoulder.

“Okay, what is going on?” Ben didn’t answer, he just went over to Alicia, started talking to her in a lowered voice when she reached for him, running her hands over him in disbelief. Johnny just stood in the room, aloof.

“Sue is hospital, with Reed. They injected the three of us with… whatever. It made our powers unstable, they’re like… gone, for now. The doctors said they’d return once it all wears off, and there won’t be any lasting damage.” Darcy went over to him, reaching out for his arm. She had never seen him so beaten up and tired. She tugged at his arm, leading him to the couch, and pulled hard enough on his arm that he sat down.

“Are you okay?” He shrugged, his eyes fixed on Franklin in her arms, while Darcy looked at Ben and Alicia. Alicia had her head leaned against Ben’s shoulders, and Ben was holding her tenderly. Johnny’s sorrowful expression was like the polar opposite of Ben’s almost blissful one.

“Yeah, I just… I hate not having powers. I couldn’t protect no-one like that. I _am_ no-one like this. If Captain America and Iron Man hadn’t shown up, this could have ended bad.”

Darcy frowns. She reaches over, and pinches his cheek, which at least makes him look at her, a bit bewildered. “You’re not no-one, firecracker. Stop the angst. You’re Jonathan Storm, and you will always take care of your family. That’s your superpower, even if you don’t have the flames.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I’m just a normal person, too. If you whine about being normal, how should I feel then, permanently without superpowers? You’re being rude again.”

At that he laughs, at least, and she feels like his eyes focus for the first time since he got here. He pinched her in the cheek too, now. “I think your mouth might be your superpower.”

Darcy feigned shock, and put her free hand over one of Franklins ears. “Not in front of the kid, Johnny.”

At that, the playful spark returned to his eyes, and he grinned. “See? And I didn’t even mean that as an innuendo for once. I think I’m growing up.”

Darcy rolled her eyes, and the carefully started handing him over his little nephew without waking him, as Ben and Alicia started getting up “Sure. Whatever you say, hot shot.” She stood up, too, and Johnny did as well. He looked at Frankin, a bit thoughtful, and then walked over to Alicia.

“Can you take him, Alicia? Just in case our powers return earlier than expected.” Alicia held out her hands and took Franklin, who mumbled something in his sleep. Ben put his arms around her, as he started leading her to the elevator. Johnny turned around to Darcy again, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his jeans. “Thanks for today. I didn’t thank you yet, did I?”

Darcy waved it off. “Nothing to thank me for. Go home and take care of yourself, okay? And call me when something comes up.” He nodded, but before turning and following Ben and Alicia, he walked over to her, and briefly pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Thanks, Darce. Really.”

 

After they were gone, Darcy stayed in her lobby for a moment, just letting the tension fall from her shoulders. The waiting for news on them had really drained her. With a deep sigh, she got up, and walked to her bedroom. Being friends with Johnny was many things, but surely not easy. And the fact that usually she wouldn’t even know about it if something were to happen to him kind of bothered her. Had he told her at all, if it wouldn’t have been for Franklin and Alicia? Darcy ran her hands through her hair in frustration. Did she even want to know? The worry had almost killed her here. She wasn’t sure if she could do that every day. Oh hell. What had she gotten herself into with this one.

 

 

*

 

 

“Holy fucking – _are you trying to give me a heart attack_?” It’s a couple of days later in Darcy’ place. She’s on the couch with a book, and heard something against the glass, looking up, and there he just is! In all his flaming glory, head to toe, grinning like a happy idiot. Then she get’s it, and she put the book away, walking over to the window and opening it with a grin. “Your powers are finally back, huh, firecracker? Congrats!”

“Want to go flying, Darce?”

She blinked. “Err. What? No! You’d burn me. I want to live, thank you very much.”

He grinned, and allowed the temperature around his upper body to cool down a bit. “No, not necessarily. I can control it, you know.” At that, he turned the heat on the top of his head back up, so it looked as if it was burning.

She laughed, leaning against the window, shaking her head a bit. “Yeah, marvellous, but I’d rather not risk it.”

At that, Johnny went full blaze for a moment, and did a looping. When he was in front of the window again, he paused, holding out his arms, which cooled down along with his upper half again. “Oh come-on. Don’t you trust me?”

Darcy crossed her arms over her chest. It was good to see him so chipper. That’s how Johnny was supposed to be. “I’d trust you with my life. But if I should have been flying the magic’s that are would have given _me_ flying powers.”

At that, he snorted. “I can give you flying powers. You just have to trust me. Come on. I really want to show you. You have to see this to get it.” Towards the end, his voice had turned into a whin, and he had come closer to the glass, holding unto the window. His eyes were pretty intense as he looked at her now, tilting his head a bit with a grin, wiggling his eyebrows.

Darcy huffed. “Oh for fucks sake. If you drop me, though, I’ll make Thor smash you with his hammer.”

He grinned. “I would never.” He held out his hands for her, and she took them, carefully trying to put her feet up over the window as he tugged – and desperately not trying to think too hard about what it was that she was doing, and even more desperate not too look down. Holy shit. And then, before she did get the chance to look anyway, he had her swept up in his arms bridal style, and they… flew.

 

Darcy wrapped her arms around his cooled upper body, and held on for dear life, not daring to look at anything but him for a moment. When she didn’t feel completely out of it anymore, she slowly – very slowly – turned her head. It was exhilarating. She couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up in her.

Johnny grinned, as he flew in circles around the tower, spiralling upwards. “It’s awesome, isn’t it?”

“It’s… incredible. I get why you love it so much.”

They flew one bigger circle, before he headed for Stark’s balcony, and gently landed on it. Darcy did feel relief though, when she had solid ground under her feet again. She knew her face was flushed from the wind, and her cheeks were hurting – though that could have also been because of her broad grin. Johnny pressed his palm against her face, warming up up.

“Okay, it’s fun and awesome, I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

He grined. “Actually, you never did.”

“What?”

He lowered his hands from her face, and put them oner her hips smoothly. She replied in putting hers unto his, though she was a bit confused as to what he was talking about. And where that came from, now. “That’s kind of… why I wanted to show you. Make you see.”

Okay. Now that really was off.

She shook her head slightly, in confusion, but before she could ask him if he was sick, maybe, or if there were side-effects the doctors hadn’t mentioned to him, the door to the balcony got pulled open. Both looked in the direction of Stark, who was leaning there, with his whisky. Darcy could see Pepper on the couch, grinning amusedly, waving with her own glass.

“No landing on the balcony, you reckless kids, and no frolicking around either. Lewis, your reputation will drop lower than this tower if you’re being seen with that one.” Johnny growled in reply, but Darcy grinned. “Hey, that’s not funny.” Darcy was amused to find that he looked seriously offended at Stark’s antics.

She softly pinched his hip, which almost made him jump. He looked at her a bit questioningly, and she winked, before looking back to Stark.

“You’re one to talk. My reputation is practically non-existent since I live in the same building with you. At least when I’m seen with Johnny it’ll be _hot.”_

Stark grinned, and laughed, raising his glass to her. “Point taken. Well, still, get of my fucking lawn, kids.”

Darcy turned to Johnny, grinning. “You heard the old man. Where are you taking me next?”

He shrugged. “Where do you want to go? I’ll take you wherever you want.”

Darcy looked up, tiling her head from one side to the other. “How about… our lady liberty? Or is that to crass? I always wanted to see things from her point of view.”

 

The view turned out to be way better than in her wildest dreams. They sit for a couple of moment in silence, as Darcy struggles with being amazed and being freaked out at the same time. The place wasn’t exactly made to be sat on, so she was kind of afraid to move even slightly. She just sat close to Johnny, who was heating up the cold air up here with his body for her. It was oddly comfortable. “Next time, we’ll bring takeout. Chinese.”

He laughed at that. “Next time, huh? If Sue could hear you. My powers are not meant to be used for such useless things as fun.”

Darcy remembered when she first saw him, at that bike thing. She grined, and then shruged. “I know, I’m a bad influence. But I think you might actually deserve a bit of fun every once in a while for being a superhero. Besides, isn’t it kind of reckless for her to have a kid, with all the enemies you have? If she gets to be reckless and have kids, you get to be reckless and have fun.”

He laughed loudly at that. “Do I get to be reckless and have _you?_ ”

Darcy side-eyed him at that. “Dude. That was so not smooth.”

He shruged. “Was worth that super incredulous expression.”

Darcy snorted. As if he didn’t get that often enough.

He nudgeed her softly with his arm, to make her look up at him. The grin had faded a bit from his face. “No, but seriously, Darce. You’re worth it." Darcy couldn’t do anything. She just blinked, a couple of times. So Johnny continued. “I was trying to tell you that earlier, before stupid Stark interrupted.” He reached out for the back of his head with one hand, ruffling through his hair. “I know I’m a bit of a screw-up, but I think I’ll try the grabby hands with you, if you want me. And if you don’t want me – which I doubt, because, I’m hot and you are hot and we are hot together, as you pointed out before – well. I will fight to make you see it. See me. You’re with the fight.”

For a moment, Darcy was overwhelmed. She was tempted to laugh, and act like it was all just a good joke. She was tempted to cough, look away, and wait for the situation to be over. She was also tempted to grab his face and kiss him, like there is no tomorrow. His expression was so… serious. She shook her head a bit, feeling utterly helpless. “Well, you don’t have to. Fight, I mean. Not to make me see. I _see_ you Johnny. Or at least I _think_ I do. I told you already, in my embarrassing tired moment of weakness. You are a loveable jerkass, I don’ t usually let just anyone into my bed. And I don’t even mean that as an innuendo. I’m just not… sure that I can keep up. That this…” she waved between the two of them, her hand shaking a bit. She pretended it was because she’s still afraid to just fall of the head of the statue.”… would work.”

Johnny didn’t look perturbed by that statement. If anything, the idiot had the guts to grin. Why was he grinning so stupidly at that? He reached out, and put one arm around her. Which, hey! Now he could fall off! His grip on her shoulder was tight, like he was afraid that she would just run off. Which she couldn’t. How smart of him, to tell her all this feeling-stuff when she couldn’t just leave. “Then I’ll fight for that. You said it, didn’t you? That we have to fight to make things work. We will. I promise, I will fight anything that gets in our way. And you know, I usually win. I’m the Torch.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, a bit shakily. That massive idiot. What a loveable fool he was. “Even if we’ll have to fight ourselves?”

He grinned. “Especially then. Can’t think of a greater challenge.”

“Point taken.” Darcy paused, and then she shruged, helplessly. Maybe this was the biggest mistake of her life but… “Well, then. Count me in.”

Johnny reached for her her cheek with his free hand, turning her head slightly, and pressed his lips against her in a way that is different from that first kiss in the pub, all those years ago. The kiss tastes of salt, and smoke. Which has never tasted so sexy, to be honest.

When they pull away for fresh air, Darcy is holding unto the front part of his suit. “You know what, hot shot? I think we should really continue this on the ground. Or in my room.”

“Anything for you, Darce.”

 

 

****

 

 

**Further Reading:**

[„Here, Warm this up for me (This Heart of Mine Has been too cold)“ by sarcastic_fina](http://archiveofourown.org/works/518721?view_adult=true)

To absolutely no-one’s surprise, this one shot rocks everyone’s socks of and it’s awesome. Darcy is with SHIELD, Johnny wants to get a chance and he’s kind of a glorified microwave. It’s fun.

 

[tattoos (reference jokes) are forever by amusewithaview](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1867746/chapters/4021119)

My absolute favozrite au in the world, the soulmark-thing. I might have had little tiny dramatic anime-tears in the corner of my eyes when I read these. Three chapters so far, and I keep my fingers crossed for more.

 

[I didn’t know what I wanted (Until I Wanted you) by sarcastic_fina](http://archiveofourown.org/works/492937)

It’s so good. Johnny crushing on Darcy, Darcy crushing on Steve, and Johnny being up for the chase. It’s so good. I also kind of love the Johnny here.

 

 


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